cup trash infographic - steelys...
TRANSCRIPT
Hello America. Did you know that more than 100 BILLION throw-away cupsare sent to U.S. landfills each year?
Every time you use and toss a paper, plastic or styrofoam cup, it depletes resources, increases C02 emissions, escalates health risks, and adds to our global landfill crisis.
When 315 million Americans repeat this behavior daily, it adds up to a real problem.
That’s enough cup trash to circle the earth an astounding 1,744 times!
The paper industry is the largest industrial consumer of water and third largest industrial greenhouse gas emitter
When incinerated by disposal companies produces up to 90 toxic & hazardous chemicals
Harmful chemicals leached by plastics are present in the bodies of almost every human being, including newborns
co2
trees are cut down to make paper cups each year
gallons of water are used to make a year’s worth of paper cups
could be powered annually by energy needed to make & dispose of paper cups
BILLIONpaper cups
BILLIONfoam cups 58
Million20
Every four paper cups are responsiblefor creating 1 pound of emissions
1 2 Billion
homes 53,000
CAN’T BE RECYCLEDcoated with plastic andMost paper cups are
Contains toxic chemicals that can leach and threaten human health
and reproductive systems
Foam litter hard to contain and is a signifcant component
of land and water pollution
Recycled at low rates & will languish in landfill for
25consumed in the U.S. annually
500 years or morePlastic trash makes up to 80% of all marine debris ...it’s estimated we have 6 times more plastic trash in our oceans than plankton
In 2010, plastic cup recycling rates were so small it was considered negligible
TENS OF BILLIONSof single-use plastic cups trashedat U.S. restaurants, cafes & events
plastic cups are used anNually 9 Billion industry alone almostIn the U.S. airline
are packaging + containers like cups, bottles, lids, straws & take-out foodware
of plastic, per person, per year are trashed in the U.S., comprising up to
Foam cups are made ofa non-biodegradable, petroleum-based plastic
Can be fatal when consumedby birds, fish and wildlife
Cup Waste Data Sources >> Paper Cup Waste: U.S. EPA; Styrofoam Cup Waste: Environmental Defense Fund; Plastic Cup Waste: Compilation of government, restaurant, entertainment and event industry estimates. >> Factoid Sources: U.S. EPA, Environmental Defense Fund, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Treehugger.com, wikipedia.org, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Californians Against Waste, Earth911, ChrisJordan.com, Alliance for Environmental Innovation, thinkoutsidethebin.com.
100BILLION
CUPS
THE DISPOSABLE CUP CRISIS
Mostly plastic-coated virgin paper Polystyrene (PS) aka “Styrofoam” Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) Polystyrene (PS) & Polypropylene (PP)
1
66
5
thrown away in the U.S. annually
THE LARGEST CATEGORIES OF PLASTIC WASTE 30% OF LANDFILL SPACE
Polystyrene manufacturing 5th largest industrial producer of hazardous waste
© S
teely
s Drin
kwar
e 2013
Please share this info to promote more thoughtful cup consumption & choose reusables whenever you can.
SOURCES: Infographic Research & Design by SteelysDrinkware.com